The
militaristic leader of the apes battles against rebellious humans in The Planet
of the Apes.

What strange creatures are you in the mood to
encounter this summer? Are you longing to experience a robotic rendezvous with
a touch of Steven Spielberg magic in A.I.; to take a tour through a planet
populated by apes; or to save the Earth, in 2065, under attack by phantom dragonlike
aliens? We can help you select your big-screen itinerary. Take a voyage
through our list of the must-see summer science-fiction movies.

Same old story: Audiences certainly feel comfortable
with Steven Spielberg in the director's chair; his past eight movies have been
blockbusters, six of them in the summer. This time, he has Haley Joel Osment,
who helped maneuver The Sixth Sense into the stratosphere two summers
ago. Osment plays a robotic boy living with a human family who begins to question
where he truly belongs as he faces rejection by humans and machines alike. Spielberg
picked up the story after Stanley Kubrick, who originally optioned it, died.

"It explores the whole idea of the difference between man
and machine in the future," says producer Kathleen Kennedy, who adds that Osment
steals the movie. "He turns in a performance as good as any major actor I've
worked with." Plus, she says, there are great special effects of a futuristic
Vegas-style glitzy metropolis called Rouge City.

What's familiar: It seems like a 21st century Pinocchio,
leavened with the hopefulness of E.T. (A.I.'s two-letter title
also evokes the movie.)

What's fresh: It's a "real evolution" from Spielberg's
Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T., says Kennedy. "It
has a very deep psychological context. It's the kind of movie that will get
people talking in positive and complex ways about where we're going with technology
and what it does to human interaction."

Will moviegoers bite? Spielberg, summer and sci-fi.
Sounds soothing, doesn't it? And the movie opens before July 4, when many will
be on holiday, against minimal competition.

Much speculation has circulated about its hush-hush plot,
and Spielberg has cleverly avoided publicity, fueling curiosity. It's hard to
imagine how moviegoers could stay away, unless withholding information backfires
and audiences don't care enough to want to check it out.

Same old story: One big echo of other hits, the
spoof is being described as Ghostbusters meets Men in Black.
A meteor carrying alien life forms crashes into Earth, and they want to take
over. The fun begins when X-Files hunk David Duchovny leads a group of
Americans on a mission to save the planet. The movie also stars Julianne Moore
and Orlando Jones (Double Take).

Will moviegoers bite? Director Ivan Reitman, who
also directed Ghostbusters, obviously has the credentials for otherworldly
goofing. And DreamWorks, which made the film with Columbia Pictures, is so confident
about its upcoming performance that a cartoon spinoff has been approved. But
the movie went through a few dozen rewrites and features plenty of actors' ad-libs,
which could spell spontaneous fun  or a misguided mishmash. Plus Duchovny
(like other TV favorites) has had a hard time making the leap from small to
big screen.

Opens: June 8

'Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within'

Same old story: Photorealistic characters try to
save the planet in this tale taken from the popular computer game. Earth, in
2065, is under attack by phantom dragonlike aliens that leave destruction
in their wake. The last hope to restore peace is a human team led by the beautiful
Dr. Aki Ross (voiced by ER's Ming-Na), the brave Captain Gray Edwards
(Alec Baldwin) and the wise old Dr. Sid (Donald Sutherland), who spout such
futuristic, spiritual-speak as "She needs a sympathetic spirit to help hold
her in this world."

Will moviegoers bite? The "virtual humans" are supposed
to look astoundingly real, but you may need to be a computer-game geek to buy
it.

Opens: July 13

'Planet of the Apes'

Same old story: This $100 million remake of the
1968 classic opens with an astronaut (Mark Wahlberg) who lands on a planet populated
by talking apes. Specific plot points are under wraps, and the film is said
to bear little resemblance to the original, with no Lady Liberty in sight.

Will moviegoers bite? Tim Burton's edgy visual style
could serve the story well. Photos and footage so far show amazing makeup on
the hirsute males, but Helena Bonham Carter looks a little silly as a simian
with a highlighted coif.

Opens: July 27

'Rollerball'

Same old story: This remake of a 1975 film also
centers on the extreme and violent sport that attracts big TV ratings. In the
not-so-distant future, the game fills arenas the world over. Viewers root for
star players Chris Klein and LL Cool J and their tough teammate, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos,
who skate and ride motorcyles to compete. But the real dangers lie with greedy
team owner Jean Reno, who will sacrifice anything and anyone to improve ratings.
Can you say Survivor meets 15 Minutes?

Will moviegoers bite? The visual effects and high-energy
sport could be a draw. But the original was not a hit, so the remake may not
fly.

Opens: Aug. 17

'John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars

Same old story: As the third movie featuring Mars
in a year, it's yet another save-the-planet saga, though this time the red planet
is in jeopardy. Humans have branched out into the cosmos because Earth is overpopulated,
but a group of Martian warriors are taking over the bodies of humans and threatening
civilization. (Think Body Snatchers on Mars.) A Martian police lieutenant
(Natasha Henstridge) teams up with an outlaw (Ice Cube) for requisite rescuing.

Will moviegoers bite? Unlikely. Films thought to
have box office potential are almost never released this late in summer. And,
after last year's Mission to Mars and Red Planet were brought
back to Earth with a thud, this space odyssey might not blast off, either.